Scientific Advisory Board

Geoffrey Coates, Ph.D.

Dr. Coates is Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Cornell University. Dr. Coates' scientific interests focus on polymer chemistry and nanotechnology. In 1999, Dr. Coates was selected by MIT's Technology Review magazine as one of 100 young innovators under the age of 35 "who exemplify the spirit of innovation in science, technology, business and the arts." Since then, Dr. Coates received numerous honors and awards including: Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, David and Lucile Packard Foundation Fellowship in Science and Engineering, Akron Section Award of the ACS, and Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award. Dr. Coates is affiliated with a large number of societies including the American Chemical Society (Organic, Inorganic, Polymer, and Polymeric Materials, Science and Engineering Sections). Dr. Coates is an inventor on over 20 patent and patent applications, and has contributed to over 70 publications. Dr. Coates received his doctorate degree in Organic Chemistry from Stanford University.

Bruce Ganem, Ph.D.

Dr. Ganem is Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of KensaGroup. Dr. Ganem is the Franz and Elisabeth Roessler Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Cornell University, and J. Thomas Clark Professor of Entrepreneurship and Personal Enterprise in Cornell's Johnson School of Management. Dr. Ganem’s scientific interests lie at the emerging interfaces of organic and biological chemistry with biochemistry, biotechnology, and molecular medicine. He is the author of over 240 peer-reviewed scientific articles, is Editor of Tetrahedron Letters, and has been a member of the scientific advisory boards of several biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including ArQule, Inc., LeukoSite, Inc., CIBA-GEIGY, Corp., Cordis, Corp., Genencor International and Parke-Davis. Among numerous other honors, he is the recipient of the 2007 Creative Invention Award of the American Chemical Society.

Robert Langer, Ph.D.

Dr. Langer is one of 14 Institute Professors (the highest honor awarded to a faculty member) and the Kenneth J. Germeshausen Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Langer has written over 840 articles and has over 500 issued or pending patents worldwide based on his research. In 1989, Dr. Langer was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, and in 1992 he was elected to both the National Academy of Engineering and to the National Academy of Sciences. He is one of very few people ever elected to all three U.S. National Academies. He served as a member of the United States Food and Drug Administration’s Science Board, the FDA’s highest advisory board, from 1995 - 2002 and as its Chairman from 1999 -2002. Dr. Langer has received honorary doctorates from 9 prestigious academic institutions and over 130 major awards, including 2002 Charles Stark Draper Prize, considered the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in the field of engineering.

S. Richard Turner, Ph.D.

Dr. Turner currently serves as Director of the Macromolecules and Interfaces Institute and Research Professor in the Chemistry Department at Virginia Tech. He is also a former Research Fellow at Eastman Chemical Polymers Research, Kingsport, TN. Dr. Turner's scientific interests focus on macromolecular chemistry, new materials, and nanocomposites. Dr. Turner is the author of over 80 scientific papers, and holds over 100 patents. Dr. Turner has received the Distinguished Inventors' Award from Eastman Kodak, and serves on numerous editorial boards. Major scientific and technical accomplishments include the synthesis and study of novel montmorillonite clay polyester nanocomposites for enhanced barrier and mechanical properties. A barrier resin package, ImpermTM was commercialized as a result of this work. Dr. Turner received his doctorate degree in Organic-Polymer Chemistry from University of Florida.